"On my part, I remain committed to the process of dialogue. It is my firm belief that dialogue and a willingness to look with honesty and clarity at the reality of Tibet can lead us to a viable solution."

Report: 4 Tibetans fatally shot in mine dispute

August 30, 2010

Associated Press (AP)
August 29, 2010

BEIJING -- At least four Tibetans were fatally
shot and 30 others wounded when Chinese police
opened fire on demonstrators protesting the
expansion of a gold mine they blamed for causing
environmental damage, a media report said Saturday.

The shooting took place Aug. 17 in southwestern
China's Sichuan province not far from the border
with Tibet, according to the report from U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia.

The report said the shooting happened when a
group of Tibetans was protesting outside the
Baiyu county offices in Ganzi prefecture.

Radio Free Asia said its information came from
Tibetans living outside China who follow events inside the country.

It quoted them as saying the protesters were
upset because heavy equipment brought in for the
increased mining operations had damaged farmland.

A policeman at the Ganzi Public Security Bureau
said he had not heard of the shooting. He would
not give his name and hung up the phone. Calls to
the police and government offices in Baiyu rang unanswered Saturday.

A pro-Tibetan independence website, Phayul.com,
said three Tibetans had been killed and 30 others
wounded when they were fired upon. No reason was
given for the different death toll.

It said 100 Tibetans had been protesting outside the government offices.

Ganzi, a deeply Buddhist region filled with
monasteries and nunneries, is known for its
strong Tibetan identity and has been at the
center of dissent for years. It saw some of the
most violent protests in the spring of 2008 after
anti-government riots in Tibet.

Radio Free Asia said the confrontation came to a
head when country officials detained several of
the demonstrators who had been protesting for
three days. It said two policemen were injured.

Some of the 30 wounded were in critical condition
and had been taken to hospitals in the provincial
capital of Chengdu, Radio Free Asia said.